{"id":14490,"date":"2025-12-01T17:06:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T17:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/?p=14490"},"modified":"2025-12-01T17:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T17:09:09","slug":"collectcar84-you-race-like-a-cake-is-waiting-for-you-at-the-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/?p=14490","title":{"rendered":"Collect\u2019Car84: \u201cYou race like a cake is waiting for you at the finish\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At Le Mans Classic, the Little Big Mans race is just as popular as the main events. Close to one hundred kids performing the traditional running start on the grid and zipping away in their miniature cars, it\u2019s the stuff Instagram was invented for. For a company like Collect\u2019car84, Little Big Mans is the big opportunity to showcase the qualities of their BMW 328 junior car. Leo Escouffier is proud he is the one that gets to show his dad S\u00e9bastien\u2019s efforts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collect\u2019car84 is a family business in the strictest sense: dad S\u00e9bastien Escouffier is the technical brain, mom Mary provides the energy and keeps the dynamic going, daughter Elisa is taking care of the content production, and son Leo is there to defend the family\u2019s honour on the track. It\u2019s a bit like Michel Vaillant, only \u2013 literally \u2013 on a smaller scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo M\u00e1t\u00e9 Bo\u00e9r<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

De la Chapelle basis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It would be wrong to catalogue these junior cars under toys. They are the result of long hours in the shop and tons of passion to create possibly the most accurate scale recreation of \u2013 in this case \u2013 the 1930\u2019s BMW 328. \u201cI took over an existing project,\u201d S\u00e9bastien Escouffier tells us. \u201cDe la Chapelle originally made 6\/10-scale versions of the BMW 328, with a small petrol engine. Later on, B\u00e9rard took on the production, who then offered it to me. The 328 can be powered by a combustion engine, as the project was initiated, but I find it more interesting with an electric engine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo M\u00e1t\u00e9 Bo\u00e9r<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Competition special<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe coachwork is polyester, the dashboard is made in brushed aluminium, the seats are leather. We can personalise the car completely to how the customer sees fit.\u201d The junior car is typically aimed at children from ages 6 and onwards. It can accommodate drivers up to 1,70 metres in length. The 328 comes with an 1800 Watt engine, powered by lithium-ion batteries. Typically, you can expect a half a day\u2019s driving before the BMW 328 needs recharching. \u201cThat is, in the basic model where speed is limited to 25 kph (15.5 mph),\u201d S\u00e9bastien explains. \u201cThe car Leo is driving at Le Mans is our prototype and is \u2013 shall we say \u2013 a bit of a competition special,\u201d he smiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo Christian Kremer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cool as McQueen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leo is cool as McQueen in his race suit, posing alongside the real article, the BMW 328 Brian Rivett and Andy Prill are sharing in this year\u2019s Le Mans Classic. He\u2019s not the least bit impressed, zooming through Paddock 1 behind the pits on his way to the photoshoot. It\u2019s a sight to behold, that little 328 dashing through a paddock full of Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, and of course, BMW 328s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo Christian Kremer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“You give it all you have”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is my second participation in Little Big Mans,\u201d Leo says. \u201cI\u2019ve always dreamt of becoming a race driver,\u201d the youngster tells us. Occasionally, he gets his kicks on karting tracks in the South of France. \u201cLittle Big Mans is a bit different, as I represent Collect\u2019Car84. I want to do well. It\u2019s all over so quickly, you just have the start and then one lap, and that\u2019s it. There isn’t a lot of strategy involved. You give it all you have, as if a cake is waiting for you at the finish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With prices hovering around \u20ac30.000 (excluding taxes), these junior cars are serious business. \u201cOur product is fully \u2018Made in France\u2019,\u201d S\u00e9bastien explains. \u201cWe expect to produce around ten cars per year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Photo M\u00e1t\u00e9 Bo\u00e9r<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Photo M\u00e1t\u00e9 Bo\u00e9r<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Photo Christian Kremer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the production of the BMW 328 now well under way, S\u00e9bastien has turned his attention to a new project. \u201cI have started building junior versions of the AC Cobra, on a 7\/10 scale. The first versions will be ready for delivery in September 2026.\u201d More legendary junior cars are on the way as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More on collectcar84.fr<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Le Mans Classic, the Little Big Mans race is just as popular as the main events. Close to one hundred kids performing the traditional running start on the grid and zipping away in their miniature cars, it\u2019s the stuff Instagram was invented for. For a company like Collect\u2019car84, Little Big Mans is the big opportunity to showcase the qualities of their BMW 328 junior car. Leo Escouffier is proud he is the one that gets to show his dad S\u00e9bastien\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[104,252],"tags":[1494,1831,1835,407,1832,1836,1833],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-14490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-pictures-videos","category-racing-related-products","tag-bmw-328","tag-collectcar84","tag-junior-car","tag-le-mans-classic","tag-leo-escouffier","tag-little-big-mans","tag-sebastien-escouffier","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/@mateboerphotography-8810.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14490"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14520,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14490\/revisions\/14520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14490"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taziomagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fthb-sponsors&post=14490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}